


Like a Butterfly

by nate_heywood



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hemophilia, M/M, Steelatom - Freeform, but ray comes along to brighten his day yeet, nate just has to stay in his house all day and is big sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-04-12 12:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19131928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nate_heywood/pseuds/nate_heywood
Summary: Nate has never really been outside his house. Sure, he's been shuttled back in forth to the doctor plenty of times but never really anywhere exciting. Due to his hemophilia, his parents have sheltered and protected him his whole life, keeping him inside and away from danger. He constantly has been yearning for anything more in his life. So, when he somehow manages to join the Eagle Scouts and run in to Ray Palmer, he has no idea what's going to happen next. He just knows he's along for the ride.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please excuse any bad writing as it is my first time writing anything for this website. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave kudos or comments! I appreciate every single one!

Nate stared wistfully out the window, observing the cheerful scene outside. It was almost as if he was in a perfect American suburb, with children laughing and playing, the sun shining, and even cars that somehow looked happy rolling down the street. While Nate wished more than nothing else he was out there, with the sun warming his skin, he knew that he never would be. After all, the minute he even stepped a foot outside the door, he was roped back in by his parents. 

Whether he wanted to go to school, to the park, or even to the movies, the answer was always no. Apparently, his parents were too afraid he would bleed out and die to even let him have a life to watch out for. 

"Nathaniel!" His mother called out. Speak of the Devil. "Are you dressed yet? Dr. Stein will be coming any minute, and I don't think you want him to see you in your boxers...again."

Nate's face flushed a light shade of red. Dr. Stein was the tutor that his mom had hired after an unfortunate game of dodgeball turned ugly and ended with a hospital visit in elementary school. At the point when said tutor came by, Nate had been in his house so long that he had forgotten to put on pants, leading to quite an embarrassing situation. At least this time he learned his lesson. 

"Yes, mom, I'm wearing clothes," He groaned.

Nate didn't bother to stand up with his words, simply leaning back farther into his seat. At this point, he doubted he could even run a couple of feet without getting out of breath. Yet, his parents still allowed him to do strength training as long as he was supervised. It was arguably the only thing that kept him sane.  

As soon as he was just starting to settle in, the doorbell rang as if on cue. Before Nate could get up to open the door, his mom was already rushing toward it. Who knew that, according to her, doors were deadly?

"Thank you so much for coming, Martin," She said, 

His mom greeted him the same way every time as if he had never been to the house before. Nate had lost count, but if he had to tell someone, he would say Stein had been here millions of times. 

Martin took off his shoes, coming to sit in the chair in front of Nate, who only looked at him halfheartedly. 

"So, I was thinking we would talk about physics today," He suggested. 

Nate groaned. "It's always science with you. I thought we had something good going with the history last time."

"If you would refer to something good as you lecturing me about a topic I know nothing about."

Nate leaned forward, his eyes darting toward his mom who had moved into the kitchen, "here's the deal, okay? I know you have some big research paper due next week. So you let me research my history and then you can work on whatever you want. It's a win-win situation."

"That's hardly what I'm being paid to do Mr. Heyw-"

"Hey, I won't tell if you don't," Nate put his hands up, chuckling slightly. 

Although resigning would hardly be in Stein's character, Nate took it as a sign of agreement when he silently pulled out his laptop. Nate followed suit, except his looked far less professional. Littered with stickers, it looked more like a college dorm room than a piece of technology. 

Although Nate said he would be researching history, as he often did, something drew him away from that. Instead, he went to Omegle, desperate for someone to talk to. He found it somewhat pathetic but continued anyway. 

He quickly through the people that appeared on his screen. Someone who wanted to send nudes, someone who wanted to receive nudes, and someone looking for a quick hookup appeared on his screen in rapid succession. Nate withheld a sigh, figuring it was just the nature of these kinds of websites. He almost clicked out before he saw something appear on his screen. 

 **Stranger:** hey i'm ray!!!

On the bright side, this man seemed far too cheery to be a scam, but he had to be sure. 

 **You:** You're not just here for sex right? 

 **Stranger:** no of course not! i just wanted to talk 

Nate supposed he may have come off a little strong. He supposed he was just tired of what people on this website normally lusted for. 

 **Stranger:** iguess i was just looking for some friends 

 **You:** and you chose Omegle to do that? How do you know you're not talking to a stranger in Iceland?

 **Stranger:** haha yeah right. Look in the top right corner

Nate almost didn't, but he figured there couldn't much harm unless this Ray guy somehow hacked his computer. It was an update banner, proclaiming in bold letters that, unless turned off, Omegle now showed you people from your area. Great, so this bundle of what Nate assumed to be fake sunshine lived somewhere near him. 

 **You:** So you live in Star City?

 **Stranger:** yeah. i'm assuming you do too?

 **You:** Well, you probably haven't seen me much around the city 

 **Stranger:** might not be so sure about that, i'm out around town all the time 

 **You:** Let's just say I'm more of a homebody

 **Stranger:** okay mr. homebody, do you have a name?

 **You:** I'm Nate 

 **Stranger:** well, nate, can i have your number?

 **You:** Are you flirting with me??????????

 **Stranger:** it just seems like you need a friend. to answer your question, no

Nate considered Ray's offer. On one hand, his mom had profusely warned him not to talk to strangers. Strangers meant kidnapping, which meant bleeding out. On the other, what was the harm in having someone to talk to for once in his life? 

He typed his number into the chat, lingering his finger over the enter button before he hit it. This could be a change of fate for him, he supposed, but it wasn't anything he hadn't been waiting for his entire life. Finally, he pressed the button, sitting on the edge of his chair. Maybe he was putting too high expectations on this man, but he had a sneaking suspicion that this wasn't just a one time chat 

  


  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this chapter and feel free to give me any feedback you have!
> 
> Also eAgLe ScOuTs

Nate bounced his leg, waiting for a call, a text, anything from the guy who had seemingly been so eager to talk to him. Although he was restless with excitement, a little bit of doubt panged in his heart. Perhaps Ray had just been trying to make him feel better. Besides, after Ray inevitably discovered Nate's hemophilia, he doubted anyone would want to hang out with someone who could die at any moment.

It had only been a few hours since Ray had asked for his number, but he had only just begun to realize how hopeless his situation was. Why would Ray even want to talk to him in the first place? What if he was secretly a 40-year-old woman? For Nate, the possibilities of things going wrong were endless.

Speaking of things going wrong, the doorbell just happened to ring, echoing throughout the entire house. While a doorbell usually wouldn't be a calamity, neither of his parents were home and Martin had left a few minutes ago. Opening the door at this point would go against everything he had ever been told. His parents insisted that a variety of dangers could lie behind the door if he chose to open it. Nate had heard everything from serial killer to government investigation.

Against his better judgment, Nate pressed up from his chair. He slowly trekked his way to the door, figuring that whoever was there would have gone by now. However, he was surprised to see two blonde girls standing in front of the door, each wearing what seemed to be a forced smile. After a few moments of silence, Nate decided to take initiative.

"Are you guys here for something or?" Nate asked.

He hoped this wasn't a prank gone horribly wrong. He wasn't sure his self-esteem could deal with that being the first real-life interaction he had in years. At least the shorter one decided to speak.

"I'm Sara. My partner Ava and I are the leaders of Eagle Scout troop 42," she cleared her throat, looking as if she had swallowed a sword. "Are you Nate Heywood?"

Nate blinked in surprise, wondering how exactly this girl knew his name. He wasn't exactly out and about enough to really meet people other than the nurses at the hospital. He decided to stall his response until he could figure out how they might know that information.

"Wait, aren't the Eagle Scouts supposed to be all boys? I'm not trying to be sexist or anything I just thought-"

"There's no girl scout troop in Star City," Ava explained gruffly, not exactly being a model Eagle Scout in Nate's opinion. "Now are you Nate? Or were you just looking for two girls to come to your doorstep?"

For the second time that day, Nate's face flushed with embarrassment at the implication. He supposed that the two were being so curt as they figured he was keeping them here to hit on them or something.

"Yeah, I'm Nate," he looked between the two of them, "but how do you know who I am?”

"Well, there's no easy way to say this, but your parents are on the hospital's support network. Troops around the city are reaching out to the people on the list and looking for them to join. You happen to be just the person our troop is looking for," Sara explained.

"Ah, so I'm your charity case," Nate let his words slip out before he could stop them.

"Not exactly," Ava said. " Sara and I are the only ones who know you're on the list and we have no idea why. Everyone else will just think that you've just moved up from a lower rank of the Scouts. We don't exactly do many practical things anyway. Except for Ray, but you don't have to worry about him too much. He's just enthusiastic about everything."

Of course, the name was familiar to him, as he had just talked to this Ray guy on Omegle, but he didn't put too much thought into it. After all, there could be thousands of people with the name Ray in Star City.

"I mean, my parents don't have to know, right?" Nate asked.

Sara and Ava shared a glance, likely confused why he would ask a question like that. Either way, they seemed to reach a consensus fairly quickly.

"I guess not."

Even though it wasn't the most confident response, Nate decided to take what he could get. He doubted his parents would even notice if he slipped out the back door. They mostly left him to his own devices anyway and trusted him enough not to leave the house. He supposed he would be breaking that trust by sneaking out, but what was life without a little adventure?

"Alright, I'm in," Nate agreed, "but you haven't told me where to meet you."

Sara looked as if she was trying to hide her smile, but soon succumbed, "You know the abandoned rec center on third? We meet there every night at 6:00."

"Every night?" Nate raised an eyebrow. "I don't know much about Eagle Scouts, but I would say they normally don't meet that much, right?"

"Let's just say we're not exactly a normal troop," Sara's grin lit up her whole face. "See you tonight, Heywood. Don't be late."

With that, Sara spun around on her heel and started pacing away from the house. Although Nate expected Ava to follow, she walked quickly enough that she managed to catch up with Sara. Although he thought he spotted the two holding hands, they rounded the corner far too fast for Nate to tell. Besides, he had more pressing things to think about.

Although he wouldn't consider himself a pessimist, he could only see a few situations where this worked out well. He almost considered doubling back on his decision until his pocket buzzed and he pulled out his phone.

 **Unknown:** hey is this nate?

He had only given his number to one person: Ray. Their conversation flashed back to him for a moment. He realized that Ray was right about the fact that he needed friends. Perhaps, this would be the best way to do it.

He stuffed his phone back into his pocket, swearing to himself that he would respond later. He practically sprinted up the stairs, jerking the door to his closet open. He decided that he at least needed to try to dress nice. After all, he had an impression to set. And while Nate hadn’t had very many, even he knew first impressions were everything.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the one where Nate actually comes to an Eagle Scouts meeting and it's wild. He also climbs on a roof fun fun
> 
> Also props to anyone who can figure out who all the characters are just from the descriptions.
> 
> As always, enjoy and feel free to leave me feedback!

Nate straightened his shirt, looking into his mirror with a critical gaze. The only time he had actually met new people in the past few years had been online, where appearance didn't exactly matter. This time, he had set himself on a mission to fix every imperfection in his hair or clothes. When he realized that wasn't exactly realistic, he sighed, turning away. He supposed he would just have to deal with himself the way he was.

The more pressing matter was how to escape the house from right under his parent's noses. While they weren't particularly observant, it wasn't like they were blind, and they would certainly notice if he walked out right in front of them. He could try to sneak out the back door, but if his parents were having dinner, he would certainly be grounded for months.

Glancing at the window, Nate got an idea. He wouldn't exactly say it was a good idea, as it went against everything he'd ever been taught, but he had never been one for following the rules. Pacing over to the other side of his room, he yanked open his window, letting the summer air flow in. Slowly, he straddled the window sill and planted his feet firmly on the roof of his house. His heartbeat sounded in his ears as he took heaving breaths. He knew that a fall from this height could be more than deadly for him, especially if his parents didn't notice.

Against his will, Nate's hands began to shake as he took cautious steps toward the edge of the roof. Although he had planned this out meticulously during all the nights he was stuck in his room, it wasn't like he had ever actually attempted this. He focused on just putting one foot in front of the other until he reached the edge. He sat down in place, dangling his legs over the side of the house. He eased himself on to the generator below him, releasing his breath in staggered gasps.

He dropped down from the generator with a sigh of relief, almost having to pinch himself to check that this was real life. He couldn't believe he just snuck out of his house with killing himself by accident or, worse, getting scolded by his parents. Nate knew from experience that his dad would be completely enraged if he discovered what he was doing.

"Thank God," Nate breathed out.

He wasn't exactly religious, but he figured that some kind of miracle allowed this to happen, whether it was spiritual or not.

He continued to walk down the street, making sure not to jog and embarrass himself by being completely out of breath when he got there. He eventually reached the rec center that Sara mentioned but only hung outside awkwardly for a few moments. It was exactly like the girl had given him a map or any kind of specific instructions for how to get in.

"Are you Nate?" A voice came from the door, soon matched by a figure. "Ava told me to come find you."

Although he couldn't see that well due to the clouds and sunset, he could vaguely make out the guy's features. His black hair seemed to blend in with the numerous trash bags in the dumpster behind him. Nate could barely tell he was wearing glasses except for the glare created by the setting sun.

"Yeah that's me," Nate replied, holding back a chuckle. "Do you guys normally meet each other next to dumpsters?"

"Oh no, uh, Ava just asked me to get you from here, and we kinda need somewhere to throw away our trash," The joke clearly went right over the man's head.

"I'm Gary, by the way," he continued, after a few moments of silence.

"You already know who I am," Nate said. "But I have to ask, how did you end up on new guy duty?"

"Well, actually, I'm the newest guy on the troop. Plus I managed to get out of Ray's chore wheel, so he decided to pipe up against me and-" Gary cut himself off. "Not that it's a bad thing to come and greet you or anything."

Nate decided to go easy on the guy by not pressing the subject. Still, the comment hit at a sore spot, only further confirming Nate's fear that the troop didn't even want him to be there in the first place.

"So, are we going inside?" Nate asked.

Gary nodded as if he had suddenly been reminded of an essential truth in his life. He turned around promptly, leaving Nate to hurry along behind him. Once they reached the inside of the building, they were greeted with flickering lights and peeling paint. They winded through a series of hallways, each more deteriorated than the next. While Nate wouldn't say it was the nicest place in the world, Gary's posture at least suggested he was proud of it.

It wasn't until the two reached a door that Gary spoke again.

"You might want to brace yourself," He warned.

Nate decided not to comment on his words, waiting until Gary fully opened the door. From there, he looked around the room, almost overwhelmed by the amount of activity in it. Since he was used to days of tutoring and video gaming, he wasn't exactly acclimated to noisy places.

The room appeared to be an abandoned gym, complete with faded lines on the floor and torn basketball hoops. Nate guessed that it wasn't exactly a normal gym due to the tables and people scattered throughout it. The first thing he noticed was a large man sprawled out across an entire table, with a bottle of beer in hand. It couldn't exactly be beer, though, could it? After all, he swore that the Eagle Scouts didn't accept anyone older than 18. Either way, the guy was too sound asleep for Nate to even begin to ask.

Other than that, a girl and a guy were playing video games in the back corner. He figured he wouldn't interrupt as their body movements and yells seemed to suggest they were very into it. Another guy stood in the back wearing a trench coat, who didn't exactly seem quite in the moment. Next were the familiar Sara and Ava, sitting on a couch near the front of the room. Nate wasn't that good at social cues after years in practical isolation, but if he had to guess, the way they looked at each other suggested they were more than friends.

Finally, a guy was pretty insistently tying a knot in the middle of the room. He seemed almost out of place with everyone else, as he tried to get anyone to join him. Including the dark-skinned girl standing next to him. Nate would be lying if he didn't say she was pretty, but thinking about flirting with her just felt wrong.

"Come on," the guy with the knot turned to her. "If you're going to be an Eagle Scout, you might as well learn all the knots. You never know when they'll come in handy."

The girl smiled gently, "Maybe tomorrow, Ray. I'm sure there's plenty of time to learn."

Nate ignored the clear ploy from the girl, clearly intended to spare Ray's feelings. The fact that he grinned afterward didn't leave him feeling guilty about it. This must have been the Ray that Sara and Ava mentioned earlier who sent his head spinning about just how likely a miracle could be. Even though he doubted it was the same Ray he had spoken to online, somewhere deep in his heart he hoped for it.

Yet, he didn't have much time for hoping as Sara looked backward from her spot, smiling at him. She jumped up from her spot, shaking the sleeping guy on the table awake. He rolled over with a groan, simply holding his bottle closer as she did.

"Mick, come on, wake up, the new guy is here," Sara urged, continuing to try to shake him awake.

Slowly, Mick stirred with a series of grunts, sitting up his spot. He was silent for a few moments, but it didn't exactly last for long. He turned to Nate with a grimace, looking him over like a hawk looking at his prey.

"Well, Pretty, welcome to Hell."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate and Ray actually interact in person for the first time in four chapters 
> 
> We love a slow burn oof

Although shortly after Sara's prompting Mick had fallen back asleep, it didn't seem to deter her very much. Nate didn't know which he considered a larger problem: the fact that this guy was likely passed out drunk or the fact that Sara didn't seem to care. The rest of the group seemed to hear what was going on, gathering around him almost tentatively.

The moment he saw all the people around him was the moment he remembered his painful lack of social interaction up until this point. While Sara had promised him that no one would be able to discover his hemophilia, he was certain they would at least think he was crazy if he didn't pull himself together.

Of course, the man who appeared to be a literal Ray of sunshine rushed forward first, pieces of rope in hand. Nate had no idea what caused him to stare in the man's direction. Perhaps it was his giant grin, his ecstatic demeanor, or even just his name. He still found it entirely unreasonable that this could be the same Ray, but he wasn't exactly one to quit. Right before he could open his mouth, though, he was cut off by a girl behind him, whose name Nate had heard shouted out while she played video games.

"You know, you might want to get to know him before tie him up," Zari crossed her arms with a teasing smirk. "Just a thought."

Everyone in the room seemed to immediately catch on to the double entendre in her words except Ray. Bless his innocent soul. However, with all the stares coming in his direction, he seemed to put more thought into what Zari had said. After a few moments, he seemed to discover what exactly was that she was implying. Although his mouth formed a mortified 'O', touches of pink still lit up his cheeks.

"You know I didn't mean that right? I mean I'd never try to make you uncomfortable, and we just met. Besides, I would never tarnish the good name of Eagle Scouts," Ray rambled on.

"Mate, I hate to break it to you, but the Eagle Scouts never had a good name," the blonde man in the trenchcoat still stood in the corner, but his thick British accent surprised Nate. "But if you ask me, he doesn't look that offended."

Whether the man meant that he actually would've liked it or just tolerated was up to interpretation. He didn't have much time to ponder it, though, as Ray seemed to be pleading with his eyes for Nate to agree with the statement.

"Yeah, it's cool," Nate stumbled over his words slightly but managed to force them out.

He wasn't quite sure why he was so nervous, but the first words he said in front of the group were far from as confident as he imagined them.

"You already know me and Ava" Sara spoke up to break the uncomfortable silence.

"You mean your girlfriend," Zari interrupted.

"Ava and I are not-"

"Save it for after this guy sees you two together for one second. It only takes that long for someone to see the obvious." She commented. "Anyway, I'm Zari, and that guy passed out on the table is Mick."

While Nate already knew Mick's name from Sara, at least it confirmed that he really was passed out and not just taking a nap.

"I'm Jax," The other guy said while sitting on the table next to Mick.

Sure, it was a simple introduction, but perhaps it was just compared to the insanity from the other people in the room. As the man in the trenchcoat came closer, Sara jabbed him sharply with her elbow. He looked at her like a kicked puppy until she motioned to Nate and the guy got the cue.

"Constantine."

"Constantine," Nate repeated. "Is that a first name or a last name?"

"That's the only name you're going to call me," Constantine replied. "At least until you get to know me, love."

Nate could've sworn that his words were followed by a wink, but, with the dim lighting, he couldn't be completely sure. Either way, this was already shaping up to be one of the wildest nights of his life.

"Anyway, you hopefully already know Gary," Sara continued.

When she introduced him, Gary waved exuberantly as if he was a king being coronated. Although, Nate may have just been watching far too much History Channel.

"Amaya here is our elected troop mom," Sara snapped her fingers and pointed toward her.

"You mean the only mature one here?" Amaya asked. "Except maybe Ava, she gets a pass."

Nate still found the girl attractive but in some impersonal and objective way. Perhaps it was from the lack of interactions in the past few years, but something about it felt different than if he simply felt too awkward to talk to her. He was pulled out of his thoughts abruptly as the other person who had been consuming his mind strode up to him, seemingly without a care in the world.

"I'm Ray," he smiled, oblivious to the fact that Nate had already heard his name multiple times. "I like to call myself the resident Eagle Scouts expert, which is a title I take with pride."

"Only because nobody else cares about Eagle Scouts," Constantine spoke up.

Ray decided to ignore the comment, instead turning to Nate, "what's your name?"

For some reason, the question surprised him. He had been so invested in learning about the troop and its dynamics that he hardly expected it.

"I'm Nate," He said slowly, thinking through his words carefully. "probably the only person in this room who actually thinks history is cool. That and an avid video gamer."

He didn't mention that his love for history was likely a side effect of being alone all the time. After all, truly understanding history and the people within it gave him something to occupy his time with other than friends who, according to his parents, could hurt him.

"You like video games, huh?" Jax took a step forward. "Zari and I were looking for a few more players for a game of Mario Cart. Unless you're more interested in tying knots with Ray."

"Well, maybe Ray could play with us?" Nate suggested.

He hoped he didn't sound too desperate or anything, but it would kind of defeat the purpose of finding out if it was somehow the same Ray if he ignored him all night.

"Good luck getting him to," Zari said. "He's more concerned with earning all his badges before he graduates."

Ray didn't respond, which Nate took as an agreement to Zari's statement. He wasn't sure how convincing he was, but he decided to give it a shot.

"Look," he turned to Ray. "I know we don't know each other well, but what's the worst thing you can happen if you play? I promise that I'll do whatever Eagle Scout stuff you want after."

He barely caught Jax whisper to Zari, "poor dude has no idea what he's getting himself into."

Ray seemed to ponder the idea for a moment, crossing his arms. Finally, he ended up with a smile that Nate had figured by now was typical for him.

"I'm in," He responded.

"God, Nate, you're a miracle worker," Jax held up his hand, which Nate met with a quick high five.

The two walked over to the couch in front of the TV, leaving Ray and Nate standing the middle of the gym alone.

"Well, what are we waiting for," Ray motioned toward the couch. "I have three people that I need to beat in Mario Kart."

"You're on," Nate chuckled, begging to walk toward the couch where Zari and Jax were already seated.

Even though this was his first day, Nate supposed that this was what having real friends was like. Already, he guessed that he wouldn't trade years of his life for a minute with people who actually wanted to be with him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is funky fresh. Just some team bonding, Mario Kart, and maybe a little bit of Nate starting to get a crush without realizing it. No biggie.

Although the worn down couch could easily seat four people, Zari and Jax seemed to be content with sprawling out across most of it. That left Ray and Nate pressed uncomfortably close together in a very small area for the two. He hadn't exactly expected the model Eagle Scout to be muscular, but Nate had clearly been proven wrong as he got closer.

He didn't really have time to dwell on Ray's physique as he had to figure out a way to make the situation not awkward. However, that was proving to be a hard task as he couldn't even shift without jamming his knee into Ray's thigh. Even if he did manage to do that successfully, the way they were holding the controllers made it so that their forearms were pressed together as well.

Before either one of them could comment on their situation, the game fired up with blaring music. Nate figured it wouldn't exactly be best to ask them to turn down the volume on his first day. Zari pressed down on one of the buttons on the controller, moving to the character selection screen. Without even hesitating, she clicked on Rosalina.

"Rosalina?" Nate spoke up, "I mean, I haven't known you that long but she doesn't really seem like your style."

"I think you underestimated Rosalina. Anyone here can tell you she's kind of my ride or die," Zari said.

A few scattered nods from around the room confirmed her words.

Jax decided to justify his character choice as well, "I go with Bowser. He's cool and he shoots fire. What's not to like?"

After hovering over a few of the options, Ray finally clicked on Yoshi, smiling a bit as he saw him appear on the screen. While he didn't give any kind of justification, Nate could tell within only a few minutes of meeting the guy that it was exactly the character he would choose. In Nate's opinion, that green dinosaur had been the same beacon of hope for him in his childhood that Ray attempted to be all the time. He noticed a little too late that the eyes of the other three were trained on him, probably waiting for him to choose.

"Luigi? You roasted me for choosing Rosalina and you went with Luigi like he was so much better," Zari commented immediately after Nate selected.

"All I'm saying is he's extremely under-appreciated," Nate replied, putting his hands up. "Can't argue with that."

Even if Zari wanted to argue with the statement, she was distracted by the cart selection menu. Evidentially, the troop was very competitive as both Zari and Jax meticulously looked at the stats for their carts before choosing them. Ray simply chose all the default settings and set his controller aside. However, Nate didn't underestimate his fighting chance for a minute. If he learned anything from his expedition tonight, it was that people could do the completely unexpected.

"The Legends go all or nothing. We only race one track,” Jax scrolled through the available tracks.

"The Legends?" Nate asked.

"That's what we call ourselves," Ray explained. "I came up with it to describe our Eagle Scouts skills, but they decided to apply it to everything."

Nate didn't have to determine exactly how unconventional this troop was, as Jax had started the game. He tensed up in his spot, his concern about overcrowding Ray dwindling as a desire to win filled his brain. He had spent so long playing video games with strangers online that he really wanted to beat someone who wasn't a ten year old in his mom's basements. Clearly, the other Legends also had the same competitive spirit.

Almost immediately after they started the first lap, Nate heard footsteps approaching the couch. While he couldn't identify them purely based on their footsteps, the murmurs made it clear that Sara and Ava were the ones behind him. He was more focused on his drifting and staying on the course than their conversation, he did catch a few pieces of it in the background.

"Twenty bucks says Nate wins," Sara said. "Beginners luck."

He couldn't help but crack a smile at her support, but he didn't exactly have time to dwell on it. His cart has just come close to Zari's, and he continued to tailgate her, waiting for some kind of powerup that would overtake her.

  
"Alright, you're on Lance. I'm saying Jax will win though because look at his technique. It's perfect." Ava replied.

Sara continued after Jax's triumphant cheer, "Technique isn't everything you know."

"Yeah, trust me, you're the reason I know that,"

Nate imagined a wink following her words, which would be completely expected with their dynamic. It was almost as if he could sense them staring into each other's eyes. Damn, Zari was not wrong about them being completely enamored with each other.

"Before you two end up snogging on the couch, I'm joining this whole bet. My money's on Zari as she's the only one who seems moderately calm about this game," Constantine interjected.

The race continued without a hitch, each person constantly passing each other. Nate could feel the indents in his thumbs from pressing down so hard on the controller. He even shifted his body along with his cart as if it would help. By the start of the third lap, Nate had taken the lead, but Ray was following close behind. Sure, he had been tempted to sabotage him by slapping the controller out of his hand, but that didn't exactly seem like the best introduction. 

After a couple seconds, the two ended up neck and neck, the places shifting back and forth between them. The tension was almost palpable. Nate leaned forward, eyes trained on the screen. The shouts of the people behind him rooting for their favorite all blurred into background noise. He could barely hear that Mick had gotten up until he slammed his hands on the back of the couch, causing everyone on it to jump slightly. 

"You all are idiots," Nate could barely catch Mick growl out the words. "Haircut's the only one with a chance."

Nate had no idea who Mick was referring to, but he decided that Ray might not be such a bad guess. After all, Mick seemed like the person to root for the person who had just taken first. Ray and Nate were neck to neck until the final seconds of the race, one cart never too far ahead of the other. However, in the last few seconds of the race, Nate pushed ahead, bumping Ray's cart out of his way. 

Finally relaxing, he set his controller down on the arm of the couch, watching as Luigi crossed the finish line. It didn't seem to be in Ray's style to be a sore loser, even donning a smile when he crossed the line less than a second after Nate did. 

"Nice one!" he patted Nate on the back, likely a little harder than he intended. 

Although the force of it caused Nate to wince, he tried to hide the expression to let Ray know that he appreciated it. 

"Turns out spending all day playing video games really pays off," Nate replied. 

However, his victorious moment immediately ended as soon as Mick stomped into his field of vision. The fact that his fists were clenched and eyebrows furrowed did not seem to bode well for Nate. Mick shot forward, clutching onto the collar of his shirt. Although he flinched away, Mick still lifted him off the couch a few inches, practically snarling in his face.

"If you're so good at ruining by bets, how about we fight in real life instead of a stupid game?" Mick threatened. 

Clearly, it would be a bad move to accept his challenge, both in terms of not being an idiot and staying alive. He was fairly certain that one punch from Mick could cause him to bleed out, but he didn't exactly want to test that theory. 

Nate laughed nervously while Mick still held him up, "you know, I'm more of a peaceful guy and less of a fighter honestly. How about you just put me down and we talk this out?”

"Yeah, right. You'll be plenty peaceful after I knock you out." 

Nate squeezed his eyes shut, tensing for Mick's fist, but it never came. Instead, when he forced his eyes back open, he caught a glimpse of the one and only Ray Palmer whispering to Mick. While he couldn't exactly catch what words the two were exchanging, it seemed to be effective as Mick released Nate and shoved him back onto the couch. He would find it entirely possible if someone told him that Ray literally had a way with everyone. It may have been an exaggeration, but Nate swore he could feel his heart melting. 

"Okay, how about instead of threatening Nate's life, we show him something that we actually enjoy," Sara proposed. 

"I enjoy threatening people's lives," Mick protested. 

"We'll talk about that later," Sara said. "Anyway, you guys know where the best place in this whole building is. I don't have to lead you there."

After turning off the console, Jax lead the way, navigating out of the gym and through the winding hallways as if he had done it a million times before. Nate wouldn't be surprised if he had. This troop seemed to have such a close bond that they could have been together for years. After trekking through what felt like miles of stairs, Jax eventually pushed open a door, motioning for Nate to walk through it. As soon as he did, what he saw caused him to stop in his tracks. 

Although they had just ended up on the roof of the building, the view of the city and the stars around it was unlike anything Nate had ever seen before. Sure, he spent most of his time inside, but he was still amazed by how much beauty was concentrated into such a small area. The glimmering of lights in the distance almost distracted him from the rest of the troop, but he noticed that they had taken up position on the edge of the roof. Some simply hung back while others dangled their legs off the edge, but every single one of them was silent for once as they admired the view. 

Realizing that he was the only one left lingering behind, he decided to join the rest of the Legends. He slid down next to Ray wordlessly, hanging onto the ledge and gazing out into the night sky. Even among all the stars, he still caught himself inexplicably staring at Ray. Yet, something about that felt just right.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just some funky fresh shenanigans and some good texting

Nate groaned as light streamed into his vision, dragging a pillow over his head. He yawned in an almost exaggerated fashion and practically sprawled over his entire bed while stretching. If he didn't know that he was 18 and had never had more than a sip of wine in his life, he would assume that he was hungover. After all, yesterday's events were a haze and he looked like a  _complete_ mess.

His plaid shirt from yesterday became unbuttoned in his sleep, now just loosely hanging off his shoulders. Looking under the sheets, he saw that his jeans were practically covered in dirt at the ends. He dragged himself out of bed, traipsing to the mirror on the opposite side of the room. Nate's hair was completely flattened, thrown about in messy curls. To put the cherry on the cake that was his appearance, his eyes were bloodshot and exhausted.

He closed his eyes tightly and relaxed in his spot. After a few moments of thought, he managed to remember what happened the night before. Somehow, he snuck out of his house (which might as well have had guard dogs) and met the craziest people in the world. He had used one of his only skills to win a video game, practically gotten murdered (or so he liked to think), and ended up sitting on a roof next to Ray.

Thinking back to that moment caused him to practically sprint to his bed, unlocking his phone. He had fallen asleep so fast last night, he had forgotten to text the other Ray that he had met on Omegle. At this point, he was certain that the Ray he met at the Rec Center last night couldn't be the same guy, as he would never distract himself from the Eagle Scouts.

 **Nate:** hey gosh I'm so sorry I got caught up yesterday and couldn't respond

 **Unknown:** it's no big deal!!!! i'm sure we both have lives

Nate smiled slightly, deciding that he just couldn't stare at an unknown number for much longer. He wasn't sure what compelled him to change the guy's name in his contacts, but he figured nothing could go wrong. After all, it was just a contact name on his phone.

[ _Nate changed Unknown's name to rayofsunshine]_

 **rayofsunshine:** that's sweet of you

 **Nate:** what are you talking about??

 **rayofsunshine:** the name?? the one you gave me?? i think it's nice :)

 **Nate:** you can see that??????????????

 **rayofsunshine:** yeah. the last apple update made it so that contact name changes show up on both screens. pretty sure they're going to change it soon, though. as you can guess there's a lot of complaints

 **rayofsunshine:** but that update came out a year ago, you probably already know that

A sinking feeling seemed to hit Nate right in his chest. He had no idea why he even decided to text someone in the first place or hang out with the Legends. His complete lack of social experience or knowledge of what had been going on in the outside world could easily expose his hemophilia to everyone. He would kick himself if the one time he almost felt normal ended in a disaster.

_[rayofsunshine changed polycarboNATE]_

**polycarboNATE:** You nerd lmao

 **polycarboNATE:** Isn't that like the random plastic thing????

 **rayofsunshine:**  itS A PRETTY USEFUL POLYMER BRO

 **rayofsunshine:**  anyway i figured you needed a cooler name too and there's no convincing me you're not a nerd

 **rayofsunshine:** no one can resist a good george lucas film

 **polycarboNATE:** Ah Indiana Jones now we're talking

 **rayofsunshine:**  ,,,,,,

 **rayofsunshine** : i was referring to star wars but go off

 **polycarboNATE:** Nothing compares to the raw adventure and historical coolness in Indiana Jones

 **rayofsunshine:**  yeah except for the adventure and scientific coolness in star wars

 **polycarboNATE:** Agree to disagree (except you're wrong)

 **rayofsunshine:**  it's the whole reason i'm going into engineering in college

 **polycarboNATE:**  u just told me you're in high school lOsEr

 **polycarboNATE:**  Stranger danger!!

 **rayofsunshine:**  i bet you're in high school too

 **polycarboNATE:** Kinda I guess

 **polycarboNATE:**  I'm homeschooled

 **rayofsunshine:** oh cool!!!!

 **rayofsunshine** : guess no one can really judge you when you're not around a bunch of assholes all the time

Nate almost made an audible noise at how surprised he was. At least from what he knew of Ray, he didn't seem like the person that could even win the lottery without apologizing to every single person that he beat. He certainly didn't seem like the kind of person who would actively diss people at his school behind their back.

 **polycarboNATE:**  ????

 **rayofsunshine:** let's just say things aren't easy breezy for bisexual guys

Nate decided to ignore Ray's use of "easy breezy" in a real life situation in favor of the more pressing matter.

 **polycarboNATE:** You're bi?

 **rayofsunshine:** yeah. i hid it for a while but i figures there was no point anymore

 **polycarboNATE:** Oh cool

Nate almost kicked himself for his almost half-hearted response. Struggling with his own sexuality so much caused him to be almost overwhelming jealous of Ray's nonchalance about his own. He was glad this wasn't a real conversation or he would probably stutter and mumble his way out of existence.

 **rayofsunshine:**  sorry dude goTTA GO OOP

A frown tugged at Nate's lips, but he managed to push it down and keep a straight face. He wasn't sure if he actually had to go or it was simply a ploy to get out of an awkward conversation, but he assumed the worst. He collapsed back onto his bed, shutting his eyes tightly. He was exactly sure how long he laid in that position; he never exactly had a good sense of time with his eyes closed.

Yet again, the familiar ringing of the doorbell echoed throughout his house. He racked his brain for who could possibly be at his doorstep, but he couldn't come up with anything. Martin wasn't scheduled to come today, and he doubted that any of the nurses at the hospital were eager to make house calls.

"Nathaniel," Hank yelled, "can you get the door? Your mother is out and I'm on a call. It's rude to keep Martin waiting."

Nate almost rolled his eyes at how little his dad knew about his life. If he talked to him for even one minute or payed attention to his life, he would know that Martin didn't even come today. Yet, he could hardly get a single word out without his dad shutting him down for being too vulnerable. He theorized that his dad felt of him as so physical vulnerable that he couldn't bear to see his son even the slightest bit emotionally vulnerable. He consoled himself simply by remembering that if he got killed by the person at the door, it would be his dad's fault. Somehow, this method actually seemed to work.

He pushed himself up from the bed and began to trudge down the stairs. He gripped the railing tightly, knowing that he was probably dizzy enough to fall. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he fiddled with the lock on the door trying to get it to open. Once he succeeded, he threw open the door as if ripping a band-aid off. His jaw practically dropped at the entire group he saw in front of him. The Legends were staked out in front of his door, some of them wearing smiles and the others being scolded into doing so.

"Wow, you look like you crawled out of a bird's nest, love," Constantine said.

Although the words caused him to sweep a hand through his hair in an attempt to make it presentable, he supposed it was at least a nice change of pace from all the fake smiles. Well, except for Ray's smile. As far as he knew, the guy constantly had a smile plastered on his face.

"You guys are the ones who came to my house!"

He took a step onto the porch, glancing around at the group collected around him.

Nate faltered a little bit before continuing, "seems like you guys  _all_  decided to show up on my doorstep."

"Got a problem?" Mick grunted.

"I mean, kinda," Nate replied. "How did you guys even get my address?"

"Sara."

"And why did you even come over here in the first place?"

"Sara."

Nate shifted his eyes over to the girl that everyone was mentioning, "what the heck Sara?"

"Well," she began. "Against our better judgment, we actually decided to try to get some badges. Ray said there was, and I quote 'a hundred million different things to do in the woods', so we decided that was the place we had to go. This all went down on the group me, but we realized you weren't on it, so coming to your house was the only way I knew to reach you. I didn't expect that you wouldn't be dressed or ready...at 1:00 pm."

Nate scoffed in a joking fashion, "Just coming here to judge my life decisions, Lance? Wow, I'm offended."

"How much do we have to pay Martin, Nathaniel!" Hank shouted again.

Immediately, Nate stiffened in his spot, eyes trained on the stairs just in case his dad chose to come down. Quickly remembering there was a large crowd of people gathered in front of him, he put his hands up as a warning. He heard nothing but a hushed whisper come from the group, causing Nate to reluctantly break the silence with an explanation. Well, the least detailed explanation he could give.

"Just give me two minutes," Nate swore his voice rose a couple of octaves.

Not waiting for any kind of response, he sprinted up the stairs. He hoped that taking them two at a time wouldn't just cause him to fall flat on his face. Somehow, while still stumbling into his room, he threw on his clothes while combing his hair. Once he finished that tasks (and almost fell over six times), he began to brush his teeth. Immediately after he set down the toothbrush, he rushed over to his dad's room, still buttoning his shirt.

"Hello, son," Hank's said.

Although he may have been shocked to see Nate running toward it, he certainly didn't convey it with his words or actions. He doubted his dad even gave a second thought to anything he did.

Nate panted out a quick lie. "Martin's taking me out for a research trip. Me and mom have already been talking about it for forever, but she gets really annoyed whenever I ask her about it- something about having to be independent- so I wouldn't recommend bringing it up."

"If your mother agreed then...fine, I suppose."

That quickly crafted lie was exactly how he ended up with a crowd of cheering teenagers on his porch in the middle of the afternoon. For once, he didn't care enough to ask them to be quiet, figuring his dad couldn't care less about what was going on outside his own little bubble. He simply took a moment to listen to their chatter, focusing in on Zari who was talking particularly loud.

"Just remember, I have five bucks riding on this thing."

"Five bucks on what?' Nate asked.

Ray was incredibly quick to pipe up, "how about we talking about the actual Eagle Scouts stuff we're going to do isn't everyone so excited for it?"

Instead of being met with any kind of affirmation, boisterous laughing followed from the Legends. Nate was certain that his expression was comically confused enough for everyone to butt in, but the only person who wandered near him was Amaya.

"Don't worry about it. They're just wild," she brought her hand up to his ear while whispering.

"We're going to learn to pitch a tent today," Ray said pretty much out of the blue. "Nate, do you wanna help me carry it?"

Nate was slightly taken aback by his sudden exclamation but decided not to question it. Instead, he rushed over to Ray, grabbing the left side of the tent. It wasn't like he had to do much of the heavy lifting anyway. Glancing over at Ray, he saw his muscles straining and almost dropped the tent right at that moment. He passed it off by saying they were normal thoughts to have. After all, if a perfectly straight dude has amazingly tone muscles, another extra straight dude is completely allowed to be jealous. No homo, right?

Deciding to distract himself, he looked around the forest the group was walking into. He found that he almost stopped in his tracks at what he saw. Sunlight pierced through the expansive foliage above him, seemingly lighting a path along the forest. A creek rushed beside him, and animals scrambled along the earth below him. Even the smells were serene. The scent of damp soil and sweet aroma of the flowers wafted through the air, causing him to relax almost immediately. He could stay in this spot forever.

However, his moment didn't last for very long as Mick pushed in front of the group and looked them over. The scrutiny in his gaze made it seem like he had never seen them before.

"A night in the woods with a group full of losers. What could go wrong?"

Nate chuckled slightly, venturing farther into the woods with Ray by his side.

 


End file.
